Robbers steal Sunday offering from Church on the Way in Van Nuys

Church collections that took a weekend to gather were gone in seconds at the barrel of a gun.

Police were searching for two armed robbers who stole the collection plate money at The Church on the Way in Van Nuys on Monday, escaping with an undisclosed amount of cash.

The men approached a car containing church employees and the weekend offerings at 3:45 p.m. at the Foursquare megachurch at 14300 Sherman Way, Los Angeles police said.

The robbers held up the workers just before they were to ferry the church plate collections to the bank.

"Masked bad guys confronted them, took the money, and split," said Detective Glenn O'Shea, robbery coordinator for Van Nuys Division. "The whole incident took less than 10 seconds. We have very little to go on."

Neither O'Shea nor The Church on the Way disclosed how much money was taken. A church pastor said the robbery was a prime example why churches are needed.

"We continue to serve here and remain deeply committed to finding new ways to help see our community succeed," said the Rev. Ricky Temple, lead pastor for 43-year-old Van Nuys congregation, in a statement. "Our prayer is for God to help those responsible to find justice and forgiveness."